Vladimir Horowitz: “Pianostrating” Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

It is known that Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition has been popularly orchestrated, but not so well known that the brilliant pianist Vladimir Horowitz composed a piano transcription of the famous work. Horowitz composed a transcription because he claimed that Mussorgsky’s original composition was too “introverted” and that his writing was “awkward” since Mussorgsky was not much of a pianist. Horowitz’s transcription caused a strong controversy about tampering with Mussorgsky’s masterpiece, but he only sought to make a better piano sound. This analysis examines how Horowitz transformed each movement in pursuit of enhancing the character and making the piece more pianistic